Cop that! Boys in blue collar another special RS

Matt Allan

Ford and police join forces to recreate iconic stunt

Three decades ago Ford sent shivers down the spines of boy racers when they released a picture of a Sierra RS Cosworth being pulled over by a police-liveried RS200.

Now, 30 years to the day, they’re at it again with the revelation that their current giant killer – the Focus RS – is out on test with UK police forces.

In a piece of PR genius, Ford have replicated their original RS200 Cop That! press stunt with a Focus RS in full blues and two pulling over its legendary predecessor.

Like the original event, the appearance of a police-issue Focus RS won’t see them suddenly turning up with forces across the country. But, like the original stunt it also shows what Ford’s engineering whizzes can come up.

The original Cop That! image

The RS200 was a rally-bred monster homogulated for road use. Just 200 road cars were built between 1984 and 1986 while Stig Blomqvist and Kalle Grundel piloted their Group B machines around the world’s rally stages.

Like the Focus RS, the four-wheel-drive RS200 used a turbocharged, four-cylinder engine, although its mid-mounted 1.8-litre capacity is put in the shade by the Focus’s 2.3 litres. Its 250bhp might have been spectacular back in 1986 but, again, the Focus has moved the game on with its 345bhp.

Despite that power difference, the 30-year-old RS200 matches the Focus in being able to hit 60mph in less than five seconds. Even today that’s eye-wateringly quick.

Back in 1986 an RS200 would have set you back £50,000, making the Focus RS’s £31,250 asking price look like a bit of a bargain. When you consider that an RS200 sold at auction earlier this year for £147,000 it seems doubly so.

And, as Ford point out, the Focus is far a more practical police car with rear seats to accommodate any miscreants and a boot big enough to hold a healthy supply of traffic cones.